FOR WHOM IS IT INTENDED?

Plant breeders, researchers, gene banks managers, extension agents, and policy actors currently involved in climate change adaptation research related to the use of plant genetic resources.

Other interested plant breeders, researchers, gene banks managers and policy actors, as well as university lecturers and advanced students with an interest in plant genetic resources and climate change adaptation.

Seed sector actors concerned about maintaining crop and crop varietal diversity, in particular in the context of climate change adaptation.

HOW TO USE THE RESOURCE BOX

The resource box can be used as:

A one-stop address for finding selected resources supporting the research process, to be consulted on an ad-hoc basis or as:

A learning tool for building capacity in facilitating, conducting and/or participating in such a research process.

HOW TO NAVIGATE

The following page will lead you to the research process cycle: the 8 steps and related modules. You can either click on any of these steps and browse for relevant information, or, if you want to use the resource box as a learning tool, you can follow the different steps of the cycle and progress as your time allows.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Many of the ideas, examples of good practices, and references that make up this resource box were first used in a series of training workshops organized by Bioversity International in collaboration with international and national partner organizations around the world. We thank the more than 150 researchers, research managers, gene bank managers, and extension agents from both government and nongovernmental organizations for participating in those workshops and for the feedback they provided on training materials, methodology, and practical exercises. For a brief overview of these experiences, see: A novel strategy to discover and use climate-adapted germplasm

Sarai Pouso collected a wealth of references which guided the writing of the eight modules. Draft versions of the modules were peer reviewed by colleagues inside and outside Bioversity International. Sandra Garland offered valuable suggestions for streamlining the structure of the modules and expertly edited the resource box.

The training activities and the resource box were developed and financed as part of the project “Strengthening National Capacities to Implement the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA),” which was funded by the Directorate-General for International Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Netherlands. This project aims to promote national implementation of the multilateral system of the ITPGRFA; increase countries’ overall participation in the multilateral system, both as providers and recipients of genetic resources; and pursue options to benefit from other aspects of the ITPGRFA, including technology transfer provisions. The project is under the overall coordination and guidance framework of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations/Treaty Secretariat/Bioversity International Joint Capacity Building Programme for Developing Countries on the Implementation of the ITPGRFA and its multilateral system. To read more about project activities, see: Genetic Resources Policy: a Bioversity International blog (https://grpi2.wordpress.com/).

Additional technical and financial support was provided by the CGIAR Research Programme on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). CCAFS staff introduced us to Climate Analogues, one of the novel and important tools included in the resource box. For information about CCAFS, see: https://ccafs.cgiar.org/